Suryakant Tripathi (Nirala) Birth Anniversary

 

 

Suryakant Tripathi (Nirala), born on 21 February 1896, was a poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer. He also drew many sketches.

Mirra Alfassa Birth Anniversary

Mirra Alfassa, born on 21 February 1878, was a spiritual guru, an occultist and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and called her by the name "The Mother". She founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and established Auroville as a universal town; she was an influence and inspiration to many writers and spiritual personalities on the subject of Integral Yoga.

Nutan Death Anniversary

Nutan, who passed away on 21 February 1991, was an Indian film actress. In a career spanning nearly four decades, she appeared in more than 70 Hindi films, many in starring roles. Regarded as one of the finest female actors in the history of Indian cinema, Nutan was noted for playing unconventional parts and her performances often received praise and accolades. Nutan holds the record of five wins of the Best Actress award at Filmfare, which was held only by her for over 30 years until it was matched by her niece Kajol in 2011. In 1974, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

International Mother Language Day

 

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of UN resolution 56/262 in 2002. Mother Language Day is part of a broader initiative "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world" as adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16 May 2007, which also established 2008 as the International Year of Languages. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, 21 February is the anniversary of the day when the people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) fought for recognition for the Bangla language. It is also celebrated in West Bengal.

Lord Mountbatten - Last Viceroy of India

On 20 February 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that all the powers would be handed over to the Government of India. As per the Cabinet Mission, the British Government was to quit India by June 1948. In March 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed as the Viceroy of India in place of Lord Wavell.

Mizoram Foundation Day

 

On 20 February 1987,  Mizoram became a full-fledged state. 

Mizoram is one among the seven sister states of north-eastern India. Aizawl is its seat of government as well as capital city. Name of this state is derived from Mizo and Ram’ which means land in the Mizo language. Thus, Mizoram means “land of the Mizos”. It is the southernmost landlocked state among northeast region of India. The state share borders with three states namely Tripura, Manipur and Assam. It also shares a722-kilometre border with Bangladesh and Myanmar. 

Maria Goeppert Mayer Death Anniversary

 

Maria Goeppert Mayer, who passed away on 20 February 1972, was a German-born American theoretical physicist, and Nobel laureate in Physics for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. She was the second woman to win a Nobel Prize in physics, the first being Marie Curie.